“The gritty, raw sleaziness that comes through in the record definitely was enhanced by where and how we recorded.”
That’s Devils Teeth saxophone blower Caleb Westphal, talking about the recording of the group’s new album, The Key Of Dickie G. The seven-track collection was recorded in Detroit, by the legendary Jim Diamond, in an abandoned transmission shop. “The smell of vehicle fluids was still in the air, almost to the point of being headache inducing,” Westphal says. It shows.
Take the aptly named opening track, “Getting Down, Getting Dirty.” Devils Teeth’s signature seasick surf-punk sound—delivered flawlessly on 2021’s La Leggenda Di Chong Li—is still there, but it feels like it’s been covered in grease and scored with industrial grade steel wool. Closing track “Wolfin’ Out,” meanwhile, sounds like a theme song to a long-lost exploitation flick that’s been dug up from a bin of discarded and degraded 16mm films. Dirt and scratches are features, not bugs.
The tracks in between find the Milwaukee foursome revisiting a pandemic-era single (“Drop Down Gator”), falling into a glowering groove (“Mona”), looking for trouble (“Friday Night”), kicking it with the boys (“Tennessee Man”), and getting real down and dirty (“Sell The Sizzle, Not The Steak”). “Every day I shovel shit until I’m dead,” singer-guitarist Jon Hanusa growls on the latter track. Once again, it shows. Listen to it all now:
Devils Teeth will celebrate the release of Dickie G with a listening party at the Wiggle Room on Thursday, August 22, beginning at 8 p.m. Then, on Friday, August 23, they’ll be joined by The Daniel James Gang and Roboman for the official release party at Promises. Expect plenty of sizzle, plenty of steak, and, yes, plenty of gritty, raw sleaziness.
(For more on the recording of The Key Of Dickie G, read our interview with Devils Teeth HERE.)
Devils Teeth, Jim Diamond (middle)
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